What’s Now? (Fall 17) Chapter 6 – B2B Marketers Turn to Social Media

Many brands are using social media channels to communicate with consumers (B2C). Recently, some B2B firms have started using social media to reach out to organizational buyers and build a relationship and reputation among consumers or employees. A survey of marketing managers was recently published, “2017 Social Media Marketing Trends: Top B2B and B2C Networks and Paid Channels” (MarketingProfs, June 6, 2017).

Look at two major B2B firms Facebook pages – Cisco and GE. Review these pages and Chapter 6’s Model of Organizational Buying Behavior (Exhibit 6-4) and Major Sources of Information Used by Organizational Buyers (Exhibit 6-6). How are Cisco and GE using their Facebook pages? What do you think are their communication objectives?